Time in Between
by Allanna Stone
Summary: When a blind girl comes to train at Xavier's School for Gifted Children, she captures the interest of another man with a similar disability…
1. Chapter 1

**Time In Between**

**I do not own X-Men.**

**When a blind girl comes to train at Xavier's School for Gifted Children, she captures the interest of another man with a similar disability…**

Belinda smiled to herself as she played the piano that was seated in her parent's front parlor. Her long, slender fingers danced upon the ebony and ivory stage and she finished her song with a dramatic C minor.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Belinda hoped that her mother would get it, but when it rang again, she stood up with a heavy sigh and walked to the front door. No doubt that the people were here.

"Hello, might I help you with something?" she asked politely, her ears picking up the shuffling of a man and the almost unheard squeezing of a wheelchair.

"You must be Belinda Cross," The man sounded like he was smiling. "I'm Professor Charles Xavier and this is one of my past students, Scott Summers."

"A pleasure to meet you," she responded sweetly, moving aside to allow the visitors to enter the house. After they had entered, she shut the door and led them into the front parlor. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No thank you," the two men assured her as she entered the kitchen and beelined towards the refrigerator. She opened it and grabbed a bottled water. She reentered the parlor, expertly tossing her body into a chair. Slinging her legs onto the arm of the chair, she twisted open the top and guzzled down a long river of water.

"My parents should be back shortly," she informed both men, her head cocking to one side as took in both men.

One smelled like pine, leather and motorcycle oil. He also sounded like a trained warrior from the way how he moved almost silently around. The other man smelled like aftershave, ink and lavender.

"Belinda, I know how hard it is for you to be a blind mutant," started the man in the wheelchair. "However, there is a school that will accept you."

"What school is that?" asked Belinda, her ever staring eyes widening in happiness.

"It is in Westchester, New York and it is called Xavier School for Gifted Children," answered the professor.

"I've always wanted to go to New York," Belinda happily announced, her voice growing more and more hopeful. "But how could they accept me?"

"Because you're a mutant, my dear," answered the professor in a kind tone.

"Can I ask you something else, sir?" Belinda asked, confused by one thing.

"Of course." The professor smiled at the blind girl, who was leaning forward in her seat, her arms resting on her propped up legs.

"How did you find me?" she asked him bluntly.

"I used a device called Cerebro. It is specifically designed to allow me to track down mutants," he explained gently. He was learning that nothing could faze Belinda.

"Okay." She answered, taking a deep breath. "So can I ask what your powers are?"

"I can read and control other's minds," he answered her.

"Wowzers." Belinda blinked a few times. "And you?" she asked Scott Summer, fixing her slightly creepy eyes in his direction.

"I can produce optic beams with my eyes," he informed her a board monotone.

"Oh. So that explains your glasses," mused Belinda, causing for both men to look at her with an odd look.

"Are you sure that you're blind?" asked Scott in disbelief.

"I have echolocation. I use it to see what's around me. for example, I can tell that Scott is wearing jeans and a jacket. I can't tell what color they are, though." Belinda shrugged as she finished up her water bottle. "Mama and Daddy are back!" she cried just a few moments before the distant sounds of a car engine reached the two men's ears.


	2. Chapter 2

**Time In Between**

**I do not own X-Men.**

**When a blind girl comes to train at Xavier's School for Gifted Children, she captures the interest of another man with a similar disability…**

When Mr. and Mrs. Cross entered their front parlor, they saw their only daughter chatting to Professor Charles Xavier while Scott Summers acted as a bodyguard for the frail man.

"Belinda, love, I see that you've met Professor Xavier," smiled Mrs. Cross, crossing the room to hug and kiss her only child. Belinda returned the act of love with a smile.

"Mom, this school sounds amazing. I really want to go." Mrs. Cross smiled at her daughter. She had never had any trouble with expressing what it was that she wanted.

"Let your father and I talk to him for a few minutes, alright, dear? Why don't you go upstairs and practice your violin," suggested the woman kindly.

Scott watched as Belinda made her way upstairs and walked across the hallway, going to the last door and opening it. She disappeared inside before the door softly snapped shut.

~xXx~

Belinda was inside her room, playing her violin when her door opened..

"Hello, Scott," she calmly greeted the mutant without halting her song.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked her, impressed by her skills.

"Your cologne," she smiled before carefully setting her musical interment onto her bed and turning to face him. He noticed that she now wore black sunglasses that hid her eyes from his sight. "You smell like pine, leather, motor cycle oil and cloves."

"Nice," he commented her as she walked around her room as though she could actually see.

"Is Professor Xavier finished talking to Mom and Dad?" she asked.

"Yes. You will be an official student at Xavier's School for Gifted Children tomorrow." Scott smiled at the new student even though she couldn't see him.

"Suddenly, I'm terrified out of my mind," Belinda confessed, sitting down on her bed. She hugged herself as though she were suddenly cold. "What is the school like?"

"It's big and very easy to get lost in if you're not paying attention," Scott answered her. Then, he wanted to kick himself.

"That shouldn't be a problem. I use my other senses to tell which room I'm in. Can I show you something?" she suddenly asked him. "Open this book to any page."

Scott did so and saw pressed flowers with neat details next to the blooms telling what they were.

"Rosemary," Belinda said with a smile. Scott saw that she was right and flipped a few more pages. "Sage." He turned to the last page. "Violets."

"Correct." Scott was impressed. He couldn't smell anything, yet this blind girl could. He brought the book up to his nose and deeply inhaled. Yup, it smelled like a regular old book.

"You can't smell it. I can though." Scott looked up at the blind girl, who was smiling impishly. "The scent is fairly faint. I trained myself to use my other four senses to find my way around town."

"Amazing," breathed Scott as she stood up and walked to the doorway.

"I need to go run a few errands. Do you want to come with me?" she asked him, her head tilted to one side as she smiled at him.

"Why not?" Scott stood up and followed the young girl down the stairs and out the back door, eager to see how she got around town.

~xXx~

"And now, if you wouldn't mind telling me about when Belinda began to develop her abtilies?" asked Professor Xavier with a smile as he chatted with the Crosses.

"Well she was always sensitive to noises and smells. It wasn't until she was thirteen did she begin to show that she could identify other mutants and their powers," explained Mrs. Cross, who did most of the talking. Mr. Cross just sat next to his wife, resembling a rock for the most part.

"And did she tell you how she could do this?"

"She told us that she couldn't ever explain it," answered Mr. Cross in a tired voice.

"Of course, she had been born blind, so we couldn't really see the point of knowing how it was that she was able to identify other mutants," Mrs. Cross cut in, giving her husband a glare. "Don't mind him, he's just a computer engineer. He's always been a bit technical," she explained to the man in the wheelchair.

"Oh no, please don't apologize to me. I understand what it's like," soothed Professor Xavier with a smile.

"So, Belinda?" she called out just then.

"She went to show Scott around town," explained the headmaster with another small smile.


End file.
